Wine & Spirits - Fall 2017 - 88

Unexpected
Pairings
No one knows a restaurant's food menu like the
sommelier. We interviewed a lot of them for this
issue, and the conversation often turned to wine and
food. Here are some of the unexpected pairings they
mentioned.
The importance that Bordeaux and Napa Valley took on in China was always
perplexing to me. I'll be honest, I think cabernet is not necessarily a good pairing
for the subtler flavors of our food. A lot of Napa cabernets that are available in
the price range of our list are too young to drink, so it means going somewhere
else for great cabernet. We have an idiosyncratic, rustic Santa Cruz Mountains
cabernet from 2002, and the age has brought this gorgeous smoothness. I've had
guests that drank it through their meal-they started with oysters, pork buns,
then the wontons with spicy sauce, and finished with barbecued pork loin and
pork belly, with pickles and mustard and barbecue sauce. Obviously with their
oysters, I would have preferred for them to have a glass of Champagne, but
people do what they want and I love them for it.
-John Herbstritt, Mister Jiu's, San Francisco

"Nebbiolo is a great
cabernet substitute
for 'slab and a cab.'
Something with a little
sweetness like corn
is a nice complement
because it brings out
the nuance."
- June Rodil, MS,
McGuire Moorman
Restaurant Group, Austin

I drink high-end
Alsace riesling with
steak.
-Stephen McGinnis,
L'Etoile, Madison, WI

I've found that cabernet franc is one of the more ideal
pairings for pork, and cabernet sauvignon is probably
best with a steak. But syrah plays well with a lot of
different meats-duck, pork, beef, lamb, venison. It's
more versatile than a lot of other varieties.
-Tim Kweeder, Kensington Quarters, Philadelphia
At Casellula, where cheese is our focus, we try to have
one wine that represents each important category, be
it a Rioja or a New Zealand sauvignon blanc. But with
pinot noir we always have a bunch on the list because
it is such a great pairing with a broad range of cheeses.
The body doesn't overwhelm even light cheeses, the
tannins are generally soft and don't fight the cheeses,
and the good ones are well-structured and can stand
up to the strongest aged cheeses. A little note of barnyard in the pinot noir can be a great complement to a
little barnyard in the cheese, too. If I have a plate of five
cheeses of all different styles, pinot noir is the wine I
want with it. -Brian Keyser, Caselulla, NYC

"I love steak with nebbiolo, as the structure of the grape is built for rich, fatty,
medium-rare steak. The acidity cuts through the fat, and the tannins are subdued
by the protein, creating an amazing balance of delicacy and power. I especially love
old, traditionally made Barolo with our dry-aged steaks: the earthy, truffley aromas
of the steak pair so well with the non-fruits in an older Barolo. So, so yummy."
-Jack Mason, MS, Pappas Restaurants, Houston
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Pinot noir is a great
match with Creole food,
because most of the
dishes are based on
classic French cuisine.
We prepare the old classic steak Diane tableside,
and the lean filet mignon
topped with a sauce of
veal stock, cream and
mushrooms goes perfectly with a more powerful pinot, like a GevreyChambertin. We also just
started serving woodgrilled sweetbreads with
a charred eggplant purée
and a Calabrian chile
glaze that is perfect with
an Oregon pinot from
Eola-Amity Hills or Ribbon Ridge.
-Joe Billesbach,
Brennan's Restaurant,
New Orleans
"I particularly love
medium-bodied tempranillos with game birds. I
The bright fruit and dried
floral tones are a great foil
to richer birds like squab
that have a richness and
fat, but also a slight
gaminess that brings out
the earth-driven tones of
the wine."
-Jennifer Knowles,
Mirabelle Restaurant,
Washington, DC

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